OK, clearly I'm so hot at inserting photos into blogs, either. Will have the teenagers take a look and fix it later.

You see this? That's us trying to choose a wall color for the common rooms of our house. << MORE >>

Put yourself in Patty's shoes. You have two weeks to delve into life a whole new way, to see a place you haven't, to experiment with new thoughts, to acquire knowledge you don't know is out there, to tap talents of which you're unaware. << MORE >>

“Are you feeling better about your father yet?” Carla roared cheerfully as I walked into a gathering of friends. Clearly, from the nearly mocking tone, she was not willing to hear one word about gloom. << MORE >>

So now cabinets are out of style. << MORE >>

Now that school has started, I'm faced with similar decisions every day: Do I lobby to get Josh the teacher he wants for AP Environmental or step back? Do I rummage through Ryan's backpack for papers I need to sign or let him get a zero if he doesn't follow through? And the big one this week: Do I follow up with the mother who threatened to go to the dean if Ryan calls her kid a mean name again (which he denies) and try to keep her calm, or do I let the school's anti-bullying system take its course? << MORE >>

If Josh gets into an ace university, it's only because A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian didn't catch my interest.<< MORE >>

Putting away bulky All-Clad pans following a recent dinner party, my fingers came across a layer of goo. Not goo, really. Grime. Grease. Whatever the word, my shiny stainless steel über-cookware felt unclean. I suddenly felt a surge of dread. "I washed serving dishes at Norine's barbecue yesterday," I remembered, sickened. "Now she'll know." << MORE >>

Ha! I just found myself on the other side of the "thank you" issue -- twice. End of story: I will not make any fuss. << MORE >>